President Trump’s Department of Transportation was already probing Atlanta’s transit system. One day later, gunfire erupted on MARTA during the Friday evening rush. The latest attack happened around 7 p.m. on June 5 at the Midtown MARTA station. A 19-year-old man was shot in the arm and leg and was expected to survive, according to local reporting. This is Margaret Swan, a great-grandmother stabbed to death 20 TIMES in a random attack in the middle of the day on Atlanta’s public transit. Her murder was the second horrific attack on MARTA in a week. I want ANSWERS from Atlanta. The number of assaults, robberies, and rapes… pic.twitter.com/63to64ehYQ — Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) June 4, 2026 The timing is the story. The Federal Transit Administration announced its MARTA investigation on June 4, before the Friday night shooting. The agency said the review would examine MARTA’s security spending, safety protocols, and risks to riders and workers. The Federal Transit Administration laid out the federal probe in its official announcement: WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy today directed the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to launch an investigation of Atlanta’s Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA). The investigation—which will review the transit agency’s security spending, safety protocols, and risks to riders and workers—comes on the heels of two attacks in broad daylight on MARTA property in a week’s time: On May 30, a 66-year-old woman was fatally stabbed 20 times by a man while riding a MARTA train. On May 24, a 40-year-old man was stabbed multiple times following an altercation in a MARTA station. MARTA’s rate of personal security events (assaults, robberies, rapes, etc.) for MARTA employees and riders is nearly twice the national average. This trend is particularly concerning on MARTA’s rail lines, where the rate is three-and-a-half times higher than the national average. The FTA investigation will determine if systemic conditions exist that endanger the public or transit workforce on the Atlanta system. That was the federal backdrop when the new shooting hit Midtown. The Post Millennial flagged footage from the aftermath showing women and children ducking for cover after the shots rang out. Atlanta News First reported that shots were fired on a stopped train at the Midtown station. Witnesses described hearing the gunfire and dropping to the floor inside the railcar. FOX 5 Atlanta reported that MARTA investigators described the shooting as a targeted attack. Police said both the victim and suspect had paid fares before heading toward separate railcars. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that authorities were still working to identify the gunman over the weekend. That distinction matters: officials are not calling Friday’s shooting random, even though passengers trapped in the railcar had no way to know that in the moment. But to riders, the political argument is probably secondary. A 66-year-old great-grandmother was stabbed to death on a MARTA train. A week later, shots were fired at Midtown during rush hour. Atlanta is also preparing to host World Cup matches, with MARTA expected to move enormous crowds through the city. That makes Duffy’s question hard to dodge: if MARTA is spending money on safety, why do riders keep ending up on the floor? The federal probe was already underway before Friday night’s shooting. Now Atlanta has an even bigger problem to explain. This is a Guest Post from our friends over at WLTReport. View the original article here.